


Relevé

by Gandalfgirl579



Category: The Locked Tomb Trilogy | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Ballet, Drug Use, F/F, Modern Era, harryanthe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29340375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gandalfgirl579/pseuds/Gandalfgirl579
Summary: Harrow swiped the back of her hand over her lower lip, glancing up to meet her own eyes in the grimy bathroom mirror. It hurt more than she had expected; Her nose felt like it was on fire. She could only hope the pain there would be worth it. Watching her pupils narrow in the mirror, Harrow hissed, "Fuck you." It was only half-spoken to her own reflection.From the living room, Ianthe crooned, "What kind ofthank youis that?"A little test drive of the ballet AU I've been working on!
Relationships: Harrowhark Nonagesimus/Ianthe Tridentarius
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Relevé

Harrow swiped the back of her hand over her lower lip, glancing up to meet her own eyes in the grimy bathroom mirror. It hurt more than she had expected; Her nose felt like it was on fire. She could only hope the pain there would be worth it.

From her spot on the living room sofa, Ianthe crooned, "Better?"

Watching her pupils narrow in the mirror, Harrow hissed, "Fuck you." It was only half-spoken to her own reflection.

"What kind of _thank you_ is that?" Ianthe sounded more amused than offended.

With a roll of her dark eyes, Harrow stepped out of the bathroom and back into their little apartment's main space. A single line of Oxy had done wonders for the throbbing ache in her ankle, and she made her way to the sofa, using its back as a makeshift barre. Holding tight to it, she carefully rose up onto her toes.

With a wicked little grin, Ianthe asked again, "Better?"

A relevé was good, but it was far from enough, and high on energy and other things, Harrow lifted her good leg to passè, releasing the sofa to rest all her weight on her injured ankle.

Twisting so she could rest her arms along the back of the sofa, Ianthe raised an eyebrow.

It was a challenge, and Harrow rolled up onto her toes, into passè relevé, lifting both arms high above her head for balance in a graceful oval.

"Not bad." The words came with a nonchalant shrug.

Rolling her eyes, Harrow crossed around to the front of the couch, sprawling himself out and tossing her bad leg over the back. "Get me some ice," she said to Ianthe.

Curling her lip, Ianthe retorted, "Why should I?"

"Because if you hadn't slammed into me, it wouldn't even be like this." Harrow drew a circle in the air with her black-painted big toe, and Ianthe rolled her eyes. "So graceful."

Though Ianthe's violet eyes rolled again, she unfolded herself from the couch and sauntered off to the kitchen.

Harrow only watched for a moment before she laid back, tossing one arm over her eyes and idly stretching her sore ankle. She wanted to do more, but there was an important recital coming up, and she needed to be in peak condition to properly dance the part she'd been given. She couldn't push herself, or she'd make the injury worse, though she probably wouldn't feel it through her high.

More to herself than to Ianthe, she said, "This is only temporary."

With her head hidden in the freezer, Ianthe called back, "What is?"

"The drugs." She was a little disappointed that she had tried it at all. Only a little disappointed, though. It had worked, after all. "It's not going to happen again."

"That's what you said last time." Coming back into the living room, Ianthe tossed a bag of frozen spinach onto Harrow's chest, smirking when it knocked the breath out of her. She had used it to make her awful green smoothies when she'd had that phase, but as long as it had been in the icebox, it was probably freezer-burned now. "Makes it a fuckton easier if you just accept it." Settling onto the floor, Ianthe spread her legs and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the floor. That limberness was one of the few things Harrow liked about her. That, and her never-ending supply of painkillers.

"After the shows are done, I'm quitting." Harrow pushed herself onto her elbows, reaching out to set the icy bag on her ankle.

Ianthe tipped her head, asking, "The pills, or dancing?"

Harrow said, "Both, maybe."

"Not 'til after the show, though," Ianthe said. She folded herself farther, crossing her elbows on the floor and resting her chin on her wrist. 

Harrow huffed, "Obviously."

"Can't do it without our Giselle, can we?" Ianthe asked, her voice teasing and sickly sweet. 

"I'm dancing Bathilde, bitch." If her ankle hadn't been so terribly swollen, Harrow would have chucked the bag of spinach at her. 

Twisting her mouth into a pretty sneer, Ianthe pointed out, "Should have been my part."

"You'd be a better Giselle." Harrow smirked when Ianthe scowled at her. "As tall as you are, you'd have to dance with Protesilaus."

"Fuck you." There was very little venom in her voice. "Babs could lift me." Climbing up onto her knees and sidling closer, Ianthe all but purred, "How about I dance Albrecht, then? I could get you up just fine."

Though Harrow didn't mind it all when Ianthe straddled her hips, she was quick to point out, "I'm too sore to fuck you right now."

"I could make you hurt a great deal worse," Ianthe teased, lifting her hands to either side of Harrow's neck, nipping sharply at her lower lip. "But you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

In the kiss that followed, Harrow could taste the bitter tang of Vicodin on Ianthe's tongue.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a slut for ballet AUs, so I couldn't resist the urge to put my girls into one! I have a full-on multi-chapter fic in the works for this AU, so keep your eyes open! 
> 
> As always, I must mention that I go by [Zoya-inthesnow](http://Zoya-inthesnow.tumblr.com/) over on Tumblr, and I'm totally open to taking questions and comments there! :) Hit me up!


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